The touch of an angel
by EliHarmonyVolkes
Summary: A canon-divergent Rose, Jack and 10th Doctor visit the Christmas planet of Arcadia but, as always, trouble greets them.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a Christmas present for my friend: Bow-Ties-And-Red-Fedoras. Thank you to thecapefangirl for betaing and I hope you enjoy your new fandom!

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"Here, Doctor, put the crown on," Rose laughed and the Doctor good-naturedly obeyed as she strung tinsel around the console.

The Doctor said, "Now. Christmas planets. We could go to Onius 5r where there are actual gingerbread houses. Oh, wait, no I was banned a couple of hundred yearsa back. A few rogue Slitheen, don't see what the fuss was about and then there's Nightfall where the snow isn't wet-"

He stopped talking as the TARDIS doors opened and pine needles were showered down.

"I died twice to get this one. Biggest one there, of course, and I hope you're grateful," came af mufled, American voice from behind a large, snow-dusted Christmas tree. It was a bit of a squeezer through the TARDIS' wooden doors but once it was up, the sheer height of it was magnificent.

Rose had braved the rooms in the TARDIS which were equivalents of attics to find things to decorate with and Jack set about sorting colour schemes for the tree. Along with the tree, Jack had bought some mince pies and they each nibbled on one as the discussion returned to Christmassy planets.

"Ya know, Doctor, I have always wanted to go to Arcadia, the Christmas Market planet. I'm sure Rosew ould love to go and I could get some great gifts for Torchwood."

"Yes, please Doctor!" Rose agreed.

Shopping was arguably the best part of Christmas and it would give her a chance to get some goods presents for the Doctor and Jack which she hadn't managed to do yet.

"Alright," the Doctor conceded, "as long as its before the crash of 91147. I reckon 8148 is a good year. There was a lot of snow and I'm sure there was a really good café with a chocolate cake thato won the galaxy bake-off in 8250. What was it called?"

"I dunno - it was a bit after my time."

The Doctor finished his mince pie and jumped up, trench coat flowing behind him.

As he pushed buttons, pulled levers and flicked switches, he yelled, "Off to Arcadia we go. Allons-y!"


	2. Chapter 2

The Christmas tree rocked from side to side with the tinsel glittering and the lights glowing but it stayed mostly upright to its credit. A stray red, shiny bauble rolled away and Rose slowly made hera wy towards it, "I knew it was a bad idea, putting it up early."

"We time travel," Jack reminded her jokingly, "so we are never early or late."

"Oh, you know what I mean. Before we landed."

The Doctor announced, "And we are here. I have some leftover credits from the last time I was in this solar system. Don't spend 'em all at once and we can meet back here in about two hours."

He passed them each the currency which seemed plastic at first but after holding it for a few minutes, it became soft and mouldable to the touch.

"You break some off," the Doctor explained, "and fill the space by where the object you want is. You probably won't need it all so it gives you back the remainder then unlocks your purchase for you to take."

Rose stepped from the cosy interior of the TARDIS to the biting frost of Arcadia. She huddled further into her scarf and coat, glad for their warmth. The smell of freshly baked gingerbread, spices and cinnamon beckoned the trio towards brightly-lit stalls and competitive prices. The snow crunched underfoot and their breaths came out in short puffs of misty air. Icicles hung off glittering trees and Rose couldn't resist snapping one off when they walked by.

As they grew closer, the noise increased to the bustle found at most fairs. Rose spotted a stall selling weather predicting gems and darted off while Jack saw a high-tech medical kit that Owen could make good use of. The Doctor, having been here before, although a few years earlier, went off to find the café. It was quite a small planet, a nearby map explained, made up of five major cities. It took about ten minutes to get to the centre of the planet where all the proper shops were and where the Doctor had headed to. Rose was pleased to say that it was laid out like a star.

Jack, still on his mission to find gifts, was grateful for the large pockets his military-style coat provided him and added a complicated computer program for Tosh and self-measuring suit for Ianto. Rose, meanwhile, gazed in awe at an ever-changing display of stars on a necklace which refected real-time stars being born and dying.

A mixture of old Earth carols and new, technological Christmas music floated in the air, accompanying the shoppers and Rose found herself humming along to the few she recognised. Each new row had interesting and unusual artifacts. There were jewels found in the Medusa cascade to Old Earth currencies.

And the angels surveyed it all.


	3. Chapter 3

For Susie Baxter, it had started off as a normal day. The monotonous sound of her alarm beeped continuously in the few minutes it took her to try and get up. Next, she stepped under the shower, letting the cleansing air do its job as she scoffed down some breakfast, trying to hurry as quickly as she could.

All four suns had risen by the time Susie was running out of the house, protein pack for lunch in one hand and a bag full of goods in the other. She sprinted, or close enough, to her favourite stall, pleased to see that it hadn't been taken yet. Next to her were intricately detailed statues of angels.

There were a variety of poses, some praying and some even weeping. No-one appeared to be selling them but that wasn't exactly unusual - it was the only tradition and trying to drum up business that kept the vendors being needed as the products weren't easy to steal.

Once or twice, when the crowds thinned, Susie could swear that some of them changed position but put it down to her tired brain. Her snow globes seemed to be selling well and the credits would soon be enough for her weekly shopping the next day.

When the third sun was at its highest point, Susie decided to take her lunch break and check out the angels. They hadn't sold as many as she'd originally thought but, on a whim, decided to buy one of the cheaper ones. She tore off some credits and selected one of the weeping angels.

Then she was falling.


	4. Chapter 4

The TARDIS crew met back together after two hours of shopping and exploring. Rose was exactly on time; thanks to a watch she had bought that notified her every hour by beaming it into her head.

Jack and the Doctor arrived within a few moments of each other, both bearing gifts.

"I found the café," the Doctor told Rose, "and it was called Angel's Cake. Here try some."

He handed her a piece of the famous, gooey chocolate cake.

"And here's something from me," Jack chipped in, "it's a rose that's immortal - like me."

Rose smiled gratefully and thanked them. She turned around to open the door to the TARDIS when…

Thwack!

A snowball hit her on the neck and the icy slush dripped down her back. She hurriedly placed her purchases inside before turning around, hands-on-hips, "OK. Which one of you two did that?"

In retaliation, she scooped up snow in each hand and was satisfied to see each hit their mark. A snow fight began and Rose could feel her face flushing with both the cold and adrenaline. The snow around them turned to sludge and then they decided to a ceasefire and walk back to the centre to warm up.

On the way, they saw a horror-stricken, young boy.

"Run,"he said, panting, "or they'll get you."

Rose asked gently, "Who will get you?"

"The statues," he replied. "They are coming to get us" He ran off again without another word.

The Doctor found his sonic screwdriver and held it aloft as he travelled towards where the boy had come from.

"Of course, this is gonna happen on our holiday," groaned Rose to Jack as they followed behind the Doctor.

"The most effective way of stopping them is to make them look at each other," the Doctor explained, "so I need to find out how many there are and how easy it will be to-" An angel blocked their way.

Jack and Rose caught up with the Doctor who was staring at the angel, "Don't blink. If we all blink at the same time, it will move and send us back in time. Take it in turns. Rose, you blink. Now, Jack. And me."

A few minutes passed while they slowly walked backwards, trying to get back to the safety of the TARDIS, keeping their eyes as open as possible. It seemed to be working, on this angel at least. Because, when they had nearly got back to the TARDIS, another angel appeared. Jack and Rose each stared at one while the Doctor tried to open the door. Their eyes watered with concentration. The door clicked.

"Quick, get in," the Doctor yelled. But then it became too much for Rose.

She blinked.


	5. Chapter 5

Susie stared around her in wonder. Gone were the large, technological buildings she had lived in all her life. Gone were the bustling stalls of Arcadia. Instead, there was just snow. Snow for miles around apart from a line robin on an icy branch. And then it wasn't.

A blonde girl who seemed about Susie's age had appeared, disorientated and looking around her.

"Who are you?" Susie asked her.

"Rose. Where are we?"

"I don't know. It still feels like Arcadia, but it's more the old Arcadia that we learnt about before all the businesses moved here."

"Then we must have travelled in time. When the angel touched us."

"Time? How is that possible?

"They're called weeping angels. The Doctor said they feed off time energy."

"The Doctor?"

"Yeah. He's my friend. We need to find out when we are and try to send him a message."

In the end, going to the centre seemed the best option and they trudged towards where they hoped civilisation would be. The lanes were quiet as they walked together, each unsure of what to say. A cold wind blew.

As the second sun climbed halfway up the sky, the noise from the centre grew louder and they looked at each other in relief. A banner greeted them:

'Welcome to the 70th century'

"Well I guess that solves when we are," Rose said, trying to be optimistic. The centre was a mass of construction and building works with multiple places being painted or fixed, wanting to look good for the turn of the century.

"So, we need to get the Doctor's attention then tell him the year 7000."

Susie pointed at a sign, "Look we could do this."

It read: Competition to name our café. Enquire within.

"We could name it something to do with the angels then send a message somehow."

"I'm sure there was something the Doctor mentioned," Rose frowned, "Won an award or something."

Susie suddenly remembered, her brown eyes lighting up in recognition, "Of course. Angel's Cake. Dunno about awards but I'm sure it's here."

They tapped the name into the eboard at the counter and tried to figure out a way that the date could last for 1000 years.

"I know. We could make a time capsule to be opened in 8148 and put instructions in."

Rose had one of those in her old school that was to be opened in 50 years; she made a mental note to visit there with the Doctor.

"Right so I guess we should ask around, find out what to do."

Rose shivered as she stepped outside and back into the cold. A sign nearby proclaimed the way to the Mayor who was in charge of all the celebrations.

"So, you can probably tell I'm a time traveller, right," Rose said to Susie. "I've gotten pretty good at improv but it's your planet so if I get anything wrong, please correct me."

The mayor was standing just around the corner, conversing with a person who was probably a seamstress judging from the pins stuck in their hair and the bolt of fabric neatly folded on their arm.

Rose was surprised that such a job still existed in this technological age but humans were always better at customer service.

They broke off as Rose and Susie approached them and the seamstress left without a word.

"How can I help you?" asked the Mayor, forcing a smile onto her face.

"We want to make a time capsule for the celebrations to be opened in the year 8148."


	6. Chapter 6

"Ha! We knew our girl was clever," Jack yelled as the TARDIS dematerialised.

"I guess at least they don't seem to be in much danger," The Doctor said.

"They?"

"Yup. She's with another girl from this time."

The Doctor wasn't worried about Rose. She was resourceful and smart. He was just anxious for her to return, that was all.

As the TARDIS finally arrived, he opened the door and ran out to Rose. Relief washed over him like seeing an ice cream on a hot day and they hugged fiercely.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack introduced himself to the frizzy-haired girl near Rose.

"Oh, stop it," groaned the Doctor.

"Tell him about the angels, Rose,"Susie said pointedly.

"Oh, yeah. So, basically, they are having this shipment of stone angels coming. Don't see how everyone's still there in 8148 but now is the time to stop then. Oh, it's so good to see you both again!"

"You too," the Doctor and Jack replied simultaneously and then grinned at each other.

The Doctor said, "Right. Angels. Gotta get them looking at each other. Do you know when the shipment's coming in?"

"Er about 10 minutes?" guessed Rose.

"We're going to have to be quick. Jack, you're the bait."

"Oh, nice to know you love me,"

"Worst comes to worst, live through the years and meet us again. Soon as they're unboxed, Jack'll hold up a mirror. This causes a new one to form where the mirror is. We could open two at the same time but it's more likely to go wrong. Once we've done the mirror thing, they have to stay looking at each other and the rest of us will try not to blink."

With the plan agreed, the Doctor ran back into the TARDIS to find a mirror. Next, Susie led them to where the spaceships docked and they waited. Though not for long. Within five minutes, they were told to clear the area for the shipping load; there was a warm blast of air and four massive steel boxes were moved to near where they were standing. The outer-space delivery people seemed to consider their job done and went in the direction of the town, leaving the space free.

The Doctor opened the first box to reveal the hideous statue of the angel. Luckily for them, it wasn't weeping so its eyes were free to stare at the angel they would produce, as per the plan. They followed the same blinking pattern as before, each resting their eyes for a few blissful seconds before beginning the painful torture again. But everyone knew it wouldn't just save them, it would save generations after this point in time. And if the angels were to conquer this planet, there were many other civilisations in danger.

Jack held up the mirror. An angel materialised. It was staring at its counterpart and everyone blinked, relieved. The process was repeated twice more but the fourth angel had its hand on its face, weeping.

"Jack. I'm so sorry. We are going to have to blink so it looks up and then you will have to live through the years and return to us before we blink to get the mirror onto the last angel."

Jack nodded. He knew what had to be done.

"I will, Doctor. But if I don't make it back then you have to do it. You can live for ages too."

And everyone blinked.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is the last chapter so Merry Christmas everyone particularly Bow-Ties-And-Red-Fedoras and thecapefangirl!

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Jack came bursting out from behind a nearby snow-capped tree, "Thank God it was only 50 years."

He picked up the mirror and continued his work, quantum locking all the angels.

"We did it!" Rose grinned and the time travellers, numb with cold and exhaustion, hugged in celebration.

"I'll change the frequency of them, so people avoid this place and don't disturb it," the Doctor suggested.

They walked together back to the TARDIS, loudly singing Christmas songs and with the feeling of a good job well done. The bright and warm interior of the TARDIS contrasted with the rapidly approaching evening sky they had just left. Susie was encouraged to have a mince pie before she reurned to her home.

"It's never gonna be the same again, is it?" she sighed and Rose just smiled sadly.

There was a rush of cold air and then Susie was gone.

"Only a minor paradox. Nothing my girl can't fix," the Doctor said while patting the TARDIS console.

Rose and Jack rolled their eyes at each other.

"Could you return me to Torchwood by 19 December 2006?" Jack asked, "Wanna get back for the Christmas party we're having. Oh, and I don't think I told you but I'm with one of the guys there. Love a good Welsh accent."

The Doctor and Rose congratulated him.

"Hope I see you soon," Rose whispered as they hugged goodbye.

"You're welcome to join me and mum at Christmas," Rose offered.

"Nah," the Doctor declined, "I don't do families. I'll pick you up after and we can have our Christmas then."

Rose left the TARDIS and watched it dematerialise one more time, subconsciously pulling her pink woollen hat tighter and knowing that, soon, the Doctor would return.


End file.
